The individuals in society today have placed a great deal of emphasis on the need to remain as physically active as possible. The desire to be able to travel and do so many things with a minimum of physical restrictions and discomfort is still a primary objective for many individuals and this is certainly attainable with no difficulty for a large segment of our population. However, this is not a perfect world and a large number of individuals today find that they are unable to exert themselves without some physical restriction and discomfort. Thus for those individuals the goal of self-sufficiency becomes an increasing problem. This is particularly true of a large segment of our increasingly elderly population as well as those younger individuals who are physically unable to ambulate due to severe physical problems which affect their strength and muscular coordination, e.g., stroke victims as well as victims of severe arthritis or osteoporosis. Some of the individuals with physical ailments have to some degree benefited by the use of invalid walkers now available to them. The U-shaped walkers are generally quite conspicuous in restaurants, malls, rest homes and other public establishments. Thus these walkers have opened up a world to many individuals who would otherwise be homebound. Their mobility has greatly increased and along with this the pleasures of everyday living.
The U-shaped walkers have been available for many years. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,517,677 and 3,945,389 show the typical U-shaped walkers. U.S. Pat. No. 3,517,677 shows a design which permits relative rotation of the two side frames to permit usage of the walker on uneven surfaces. U.S. Pat. No. 3,945,389 shows a U-shaped walker with a transverse member and braces which permit the user to conveniently fold the walker when not in use.
Moreover, in order to provide some handicapped individuals with stair climbing ability, walker aids have been incorporated into canes and crutches to facilitate this type of physical movement. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 3,387,618 discloses improvements to crutches and cane which permits the user to ascend and descend stairways. U.S. Pat. No. 4,094,331 shows a walking frame of novel design which presumably can be used on level surfaces as well as stairways. Thus, it has been the meritorious objective of inventors in this field to provide handicapped individuals with equipment which to a large extent avoids a life in wheelchairs, rest home or hospital beds. This has been accomplished to some degree by the use of U-shaped walkers. Now the present invention provides the user with a walker which is both novel in design and highly functional.